Don't you just love listening to music? In the 1980s, people listened to music on the Sony® Walkman®. Now, people listen to their favorite tunes on MP3 players and on their Apple® iPhonesTM. But listening to music on devices actually started in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In those days, people would gather around their phonograph to listen to their favorite tunes—people were just as amazed with the phonograph as you would be to handle an iPhone. In this physics science…
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Music_p032

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

To find old vinyl record albums, you might have to visit thrift shops and secondhand stores. Refer to the Materials and Equipment list for more details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Exercise caution when using, handling, and attaching the sewing needle to the membrane.

If you like listening to music and making crafts, this is a great project for you. You will learn how to make a completely functional speaker that you can use to listen to real music...out of paper! Along the way, you will learn about the science behind how a speaker works. Speakers depend on magnets to create sound—does adding more magnets make the sound louder? Try this project to find out!
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Phys_p101

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None.

Material Availability

Specialty electronics materials required. See the Materials list for details.

Here is a riddle for you: name an instrument that you play with your hands but never actually touch. Have you guessed the answer? It is a theremin! This unusual instrument makes sound without anyone touching it. How does a theremin work? It has an antenna that can detect the player's hand nearby, and as they move their hand around the theremin, the sound it makes changes based on the hand's position. In this music science project, you will get to use your own mini theremin to investigate…
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Music_p035

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

The Theremin Mini Kit for this science project needs to be specially ordered. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

Did you know that your heart beats at different rates depending on what you're doing? The more physically active you are, the faster your heart beats. You can measure the rate your heart is beating by taking your pulse. This science fair project will show you how to take your pulse and help you investigate which daily activities get your heart beating the fastest.
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Amaze your friends and family by moving water with just a few turns of your wrist! Nope, it's not a magic trick. It's simply an Archimedes screw. In this science project, you will build a very simple pump, called an Archimedes screw, to transfer water from a low-lying location to a higher location.
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What do humans need to survive? We need food, water, and warm shelter. We all need a warm place to live, particularly when it's chilly outside. How do many of us warm our houses or apartments? We depend on fossil fuels to supply gas and electricity to our heaters. But burning fossil fuels to create energy is harmful to the environment. What if there was a way to warm our homes without burning fossil fuels and it was free? In this science fair project, you will build a solar air heater and see…
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EnvEng_p028

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

You need to cut cardboard for this project and use paint. Always exercise caution when using a sharp knife and scissors. Paint in an area with good ventilation.

Rockets are definitively an engineering challenge. These amazing gravity-defying machines have lifted test material, people, and even animals into space. Feel like building one yourself? In this science project, you will transform a water bottle into an aerodynamic bottle rocket with two compartments, one for the fuel and one for a payload. You will then test how well it performs when lifting mass vertically up into the air. Ready, set, soar!
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Phys_p098

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

Adult supervision is recommended. See the safety note at the beginning of the Procedure.

How do you feel when you ride your bike into a strong wind? Do your legs feel like lead? How about when the wind is at your back? Does that make you feel ready for the Tour de France? In this science fair project, you will investigate how wind-powered devices, like pinwheels, also react in different ways to the direction of the wind.
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3... 2... 1... 0— blastoff! In this science project, you will use a bottle rocket launcher to launch your own bottle rocket. You will load it with water and pressurized air, make several launches, and find out what makes your rocket soar the highest.
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Phys_p096

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- Less Details

Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Average ($40 - $80)

Safety

Adult supervision is required at all times. See the safety note at the beginning of the Procedure for details.

Do you live someplace where you get to experience the full glory of all four seasons? If so, you know well the heady blossoms and dramatic skies of spring; the long, sun-drenched days of summer; the trees shaking in crimson and gold in fall; and the sparkling, brittle snows of winter. But you might not know why we have these seasons, over and over again, in a cycle as predictable as the rising and setting of the Sun. The reasons for the seasons are surprising and have to do with Earth's tilt…
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